Elegant Vs. Ugly Sweaters

Yes, I have to do it, for knitters/crocheters & crafters everywhere! When people think of homemade sweaters they cringe and think of those hideous things grandma used to make. Well let me tell you people, there is such thing as a beautiful homemade sweater, and in fact many of us can make some beautiful, wearable (in public) sweaters. However, let's take a moment to make sure that everyone (even the crafters who think they make beautiful sweaters, but sadly do not) understands the difference between something that can be worn beautifully in public, and something best hidden in the deep depths of the closet - or saved for an ugly sweater party, where you can purposefully spill wine on it.

Example 1:

 Example 2:

Example 3:

Example 4:

I hope that after that we are all clear, especially those pigs? Really? What is wrong with people sweaters should be an expression of art, not Orson Welles' Animal Farm. Any questions?

Multicultural Life Experience Novel: Book List

So, some people know that this Fall I was taking two independent studies, one of which was an independent study by the name of the title of this blog. I proposed the topic, and them we dove in. I read roughly a novel a week all semester. The main idea of this independent study was to read novels about people from different places, in order to learn more about their culture. The novels were selected based on the author's "author-ity" to write about said culture. In short, I didn't want to read a book about Costa Rica by a person who visited Costa Rica once for a week. I wanted to read about real people from real places. That being said, keep in mind that one must never assume that one personal life experience from one place, will be the same for another individual in the same place. People growing up in the same area may tell very different stories based on their lives, circumstances, and means.

I highly recommend all of the books on this list, I learned a lot.

Book List:

White Teeth by Zadie Smith
In Cuba I Was A German Shepard by Ana Menendez
Green Grass Running Water by Thomas King
The Human Stain by Philip Roth
Native Speaker by Chang-Rae Lee
Corregidora by Gayl Jones
Property by Valerie Martin
The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts by Maxine Hong Kingston (Coming this Spring to the Writer's Conference at UND)
The Death of Jim Loney by James Welch
Tropic of Orange by Karen Tei Yamashita

Books on the list that we didn't get to but I would still recommend:

The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight In Heaven by Sherman Alexie
Caramelo by Sandra Cisneros
Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight by Alexandra Fuller
Geographies of Home by Loida Maritza Perez (also coming to the Spring Writer's conference)
Persian Girls: A Memoir by Nahid Rachlin

Crafts and Deliciousness

So I hosted a passion part last night. My lovely friend Mari Biel shared all the wonders of Pure Romance products with some friends and some of my APO lady peeps. I prepared these delicious pumpkin brownies...

Now, what to do with the leftovers? I should not, and can not eat them all. Even though I made them pretty healthily. It was a very tasteful party, and I think once things got going everyone's nerves calmed so we all had a good time. And I should mention that I made delicious cider to go with those yummies above!


I also wanted to take a minute to share a few of my recent crafts. First we have the Ogre hat, modeled by the birthday girl herself. It is a long time standing inside joke that she is called a banana ogre at work, that is all I will say. But on the bright side this now barely legal 18 year old rocks this hat...

I also recently finished a lovely cowl for Danielle, (@From the Briar Patch) as well. Here is to hoping that she takes a great shot of herself rocking it, because I clearly do not. Though I think it did turn out beautifully...

I have also made a few purses for some dear friends (Kelly and Jenny) recently...

Well, that is all for now. I must hurry off to tutor high school students and in a few hours it is off to Bismarck for the Relay For Life Summit!

My Future as a Marathon Runner

Does my future as a marathon runner look bleak? I don't know, but I am excited! This blog post is simply a chance for me to throw my aspirations in the air and see what becomes of them!

On October 9, 2010 I completed my first 5K at UND's Homecoming Race. As you can see below I finished smiling, even though for the last mile I was in a lot of pain as a result of nerves I had some major gastrointestinal distress. They also measured incorrectly, which is normal apparently. So I actually ran 3.6 miles and finished in 35 minutes. It was a nerve racking, but amazing day. I also cannot even begin to tell how amazing it felt to have so many people rooting for me! As I rounded the last corner my heart was seriously on wings, I felt it lift in my chest (it sounds lame, but it was so real) just knowing that people were waiting to congratulate me. I never imagined how many people would want to know how it went, and how many would support me along the way as I trained. For these people, I am incredibly grateful.

Of course, after such an amazing run, I am now possibly addicted, but hey, it's not cocaine right? Thus I have been in training since one day after my first 5K for the next! I am officially in my fourth week of training, and have four weeks until The Jingle Bell Run on December 4, 2010 in Fargo, ND. which funds the Arthritis foundation. I am currently deciding whether or not I want to captain a team, or register as an individual. I guess I'll see how many are willing to run in December. Either way I look forward to another run, and a charitable run at that!



Well, now is the point where you may be questioning my sanity. Why? Because I am seriously debating the Freeze Yer Gizzard Blizzard Run which is on January 15, 2011 in International Falls, MN. this will be a bit of a drive, but not bad. This run is literally outside in northern Minnesota in January (one of the coldest months of the year for those who are unaware). I am thinking this will probably be another 5K, but we'll see how spunky I am, maybe I'll go for a 10K for this. I imagine that it will be unbearable at times, but what a race to attempt, not to mention finish! I reserve the right to brag if I do this and survive!





The next race I want to actually run the 10K for sure. That is the Lace Up Against Breast Cancer Run in Rochester, MN. I don't look forward to the drive, but I really want to do this one! All of the proceeds go to research at the Mayo Clinic. I cannot tell you what a great opportunity this is! So, I look forward to running outdoors again on February 13, 2011.

And finally the end of my goals thus far, the list could continue of course. The Fargo Marathon, or rather I would like to do a 10K for this one. This is on May 21, 2011 and it is huge! They have like four races, plus tons of other stuff to do and see for like 4 days. Last year was their 6th year, and they had 20,000 participants. Why would I not want to join in?!



So, it is clear that my aspirations and goals are great, but I will meet them with nothing but hope. Hope to see just how far I can go if I never hold back...


PS: My dear friends, I would love supporters for long trips, and encourage you all to volunteer at these events, they are greatly needed. Also, those of you feeling inspired, run with me!

Some Poems

We have been talking about poetry and how/what to teach in the secondary classroom in my methods class lately. Thus, I have written a few poems that I rather like while trying out activities, so thought I'd blog them!

First is a haiku, which I wrote about an occurance in the book I just finished today for my independent study class, Native Speaker by Chang-Rae Lee.

A simple dog pile -
Crushed beneath playful boys, golden leaves,
A tiny boy dies.

Next is a circle poem, you start with a title, and the word after the title has to make sense, or has to do with the title word. Then the next word has to do with the first, and the 2nd with the 3rd, and so on. For about 8-10 lines you make these connections, ending with a word that somehow connects/links back to the title word. It was fun, her was my personal attempt.

Running

Sprints
Legs
Muscles
Veins
Blood
Oxygen
Inhale
Exhale
Steady

Ans last for today's sharing (Another will be shared once it has been polished a bit more!) This is called a found poem. Where you find two sentences from a newspaper or magazine and arrange them in a poetic way.

Found Poem

(Words from National Geographic, January, 1996 pages 2, 21)

Scientists
Have named her
Kapina,
For the cave
Where her skull
Was found.

Tough lives, Tender
Mercies, battered
Bones tell stories
Of woe -
And kindness-

Arranged by Laurel 

That's all for today, hope that you enjoyed, I did.

*L

Time to start this again!

So, it's been forever, and I want to get this going again. So to start with, here are some pics of some of the projects I have finished since my last post. Just a few favorites...

Here's  a baby blanket I made, getting picked up by the new owner today!

 Matching baby hat!

 A ripple afghan I made for my mom's 55th birthday.

 Some birdie brooches (Dark blue for sale $8)

 Some flower brooches (For sale $8 each)

 Baby blanket that was ordered.

 Ah, the Christine purse. Lot's of orders for there right now!

 Crochet flower headband, a personal favorite.

Well, that's all for now. More to come I hope!

Blog For a Blizzard

School canceled for the second time in the history of my time in ND. I am happy to stay inside, and thankfully I am missing only one class. Though, this weather did put a damper on my plans to study at Starbucks this morning - and my hopes for a Toffee Nut Soy Latte. Oh well, I will simply just get more done, and stay warm. Downside is that Nick still has to go to work - Who buys, or demos a car in this white-out weather? So, instead of Starbucks I have decided to have an alphabetical Disney movie day. Alice in Wonderland is in now, and will be followed by Aristocats, and so forth. Any day is a good day for Disney!

On a quick side note/review: The Lovely Bones was a good movie, saw it a week ago. It got a little too fantastical for me during a few of the "in-between" scenes, but overall had a great cast, and did an awesome job. Spoiler - I was very disappointed that they left out that Susie was raped, not because that is a beautiful thing; but because what Alice Seabold does best is honesty, even when it hurts. Unfortunately, the director compromised her writing prowess so that the film would be accessible to a younger audience. So, big surprise, the book was better than the movie, as is generally the case. However, I will buy the DVD when it comes out.

It Is Time

After 8 books, roughly 40 movies, 8 knitting projects, and some lovely time with friends I rarely see during the semester... It is time to go back to school... 9:30am class here I come!

Winter Break Projects

Before school starts up in a few days I wanted to post some pics of the stuff I made over break. First I made a few belated Christmas gifts - which were great because I asked what they wanted. I first made the Sideways Grande Cloche I blogged about a few days ago, then I set to work on these lovely Staghorn Mitts:

 

Then I made a couple slouchy hats:

I then found this pattern I had to make, which was perfect for the lovely -38 weather yesterday. This I will keep though, I love the thick, warm yarn in "Oatmeal" so it goes well with both ofmy coats. Also because I used a thicker wool than needed it made it looser, so it didn't crush my hair, and I can wear a ponytail under it. Here it is the Snowboarder hat, for someone who does not snowboard:

 

Now I am finishing up another gift that I cannot post until I give it to the recipient. I am very excited about it!

Etsy

Just updated my Etsy. Hopefully in this new year I can sell some of these lovely items that I just wanted to make - They are like orphaned knitwear that need homes. Click on the title of this entry to go straight to my shop to check it out if you wish.

Stealing, Phone Scams, and Pornography at Work = Lame

So to begin with, there is nothing in this blog that needs to be censored, despite the misleading title. I just wanted to talk a bit about my day, which began with getting to work at 6am, and reading amemo that let all employees know that someone (who has a key) snuck in on Christmas day. While there, they chose to use th boss' computer to look at and download porn. Awesome - not. At first I thought that perhaps someone thought it might be funny to do this as a prank, but it's really not that funny, and our boss is not someone who finds things like this funny. We're l;ucky we get to keep internet in the breakroom now. And why on Christmas? Apparentloy someone missed out on the true meaning of Christmas - which involves the birth of Jesus, and not the birth of crappy porn. Also, the amazing this is, it could only have been only have been one of three people, so it seems they might like to be caught. Lame - O.Needless to say, I am appalled, and was not thrilled to learn about some pervert so early in the morning.

On this same note, I was reminded today of how recently at work someone also stole from our tip money for the month. Which was not only awesome because it was Christmas time, but also becasue we were giving 10% of that money to prostate cancer research. So they stole from charity, and coworkers during the holidays -way to go! I am starting to deriously question what kind of people we have been hiring as of late. Though, I love them all, it seems they cn't all be trusted. Which is sad, since we have been like a little family in the past.

Now for the greatest part  of my story today. So, I get a call from a 407 area code after lunch. I answer, and this nice lady named Venissa starts telling me all a bout a promotion because of the magaizines I subscribe to. Now why must I always be polite and hear them out? She was very kind, and asked me about a taking a short survey, that involved asking what I doif I am in school, etc. Then it got scary -she had my name, address, and asked if I had a visa. Iknew we were gettingdeeper, but could not find an out. So her boss jumps on to see if she has been friendly since she is new this week. He begins asking me if there is a middle initial on my credit card, I said no, and then he wanted an expiration date. So I asked about what kind of fee, and when it would be charged, saying I didn;t have money right now - and he just hung up. I immediatly put the number into google, and if you click the hyperlinked title it will take you to what I found. Guess what? A phone scam, looking for credit card numbers. I found this whole thing most frightening, becasue they don't give you an out of the conversation. Also, they had a lot of information about me, which leaves me wondering, where did they get it? In future, I will just hang up, but they were so nice, and misleading. I knew when the talk of credit cards came about, that I was not going to do this. However, after it all. I just want to call back and say, why can;t you get a real job? Why do you have to be so nice, when you are doing something so incredibly not nice. And, how can I report this? How can these people be stopped? Putting a gripe on the internet is not enough. There are simple minded people out there that would hae taken that bate. I knew we were in trouble when they could not even name the magazines I subscribed to; would someone else notice this as a danger sign?

"Thirteen Reasons Why" By: Jay Asher

"Clay finds a bunch of tapes leaning against his front door. Excited, he tears them open and pops them in his dad’s old stereo. But when he listens to them, he discovers they’ve been recorded by Hannah, a girl who committed suicide a few weeks before and each tape represents 13 reasons – and 13 people – why she chose to take her own life."

I read this in two sittings. Of course after reading the cover I had to, what a hook. Apparently Asher got the idea for the book while in a museum listening to those tapes that lead you through whatever the museum is showing. What a great idea! At first I imagined that this book would fall into the many cliche's of young adult suicide fiction. I assumed there would be an evil step dad that takes advantage of Hannah Baker ( the girl who kills herself), or that she was raped etc. But this book managed to play with common themes such as gossip in a different way. I appreciate this more than I can say.

Also this book was not about a relationship gone wrong, Clay Jensen was not Hannah's boyfriend, dealing with guilt. He was less connected than that. Yet at the same time every one of the thirteen people she addresses in these tapes, they are all connected - To Hannah - to the end of her life.

I also liked the way that Asher chose to write this book; Hannah’s story is interwoven with the few hours Clay spends listening to it. I think, without Clay’s ‘present life’ interjecting, it could be too much, too emotional. It gives the reader a break, like Clay sometimes needs to take a break. This book was a journey with Hannah and Clay, but also with the others she addresses - Imagine being called out for who you are, and what you have done by a dead girl.

This book accomplished so many things, brought out so many emotions in the characters, and in me. I felt sad, about what one girl went through. I felt angry with how people take advantage of, and abuse each other in a time (high school) when we all need each other so much. I was angry with Hannah, I wanted her to seek revenge more, and get even, and become strong. But she was only strong enough to make the tapes and then end her life. She leaves Clay in a sense the strong one, because he has to move on after her life and the tapes. This book made me look again at myself, my own strengths, my own denials of self. This book brought on tears, suspense, rage, anger, and even happiness - yes happiness, because this book dealt with a difficult issue in a delicate but harsh way , tender, but unflinchingly testing readers to read between the lines.

What a depressingly happy way to begin a new year. Read it!

The Sideways Grande Cloche

I work with this crazy Kat who loves crazy hats - wow, that rhymed. Anyhow at this point in my knitting career I enjoy a challenge. So we found a new hat for me to make. I was really excited for this one, and for payment Kat bought the pattern book for me "Boutique Knits," by Laura Irwin; who happens to be from Portland, which in fact makes me love the book more! As a Portland native, it makes me happy. Anyhow, so it was a pain to get this book from the library at first because it was misshelved, what a surprise (nonfiction is difficult for some people Dewey). Once I got it I had to buy some yarn, of course they didn't have a nice teal, but thank you Lion brand and Vanna White for having a lovely Sapphire that paired well with and Eggplant yarn.

This hat was nuts - first off it required four pairs of needles, and even after completing the hat, I am not so sure why I needed to change the gauge so much. I think it might have made it a bit slouchier, but that is all I can surmise. Of course I fought with gauge since pattern books always use fancy yarns I cannot afford, then I also had to figure out how I was going to take a one color hat, and make it two. I have to say that the hat turned out well.

I like the overall composition, and the colors look nice. Of course I looked terrible in it, which I do in most hats unfortunately, since I rather like hats. And I was not thrilled that the "fakey cable" moved over and showed the seam when I was trying it on.

 

As you can see, it's not a hot look for me, I love this hat, too bad :( Anyhow I was thinking about trying to move the cable over, but then I decided not to worry, and low and behold - I took the hat to the Kat, and she looked great in it (as I knew she would, she looks great in all sorts of hats). If fact, furthering my own personal pleasure of seeing someone wear my creation, that damnable seam didn't show when she wore it!

After hours of knitting, and a little frustration, the hat turned out well, and I am happy to have had the experience. 

I am now all set up to text to my blog!

I am Now Officially a Blogger

Inspired by Ravelry.com, the film "Julie and Julia," and my own need for writing space on the net - here I am! If you do not know what Ravelry is, it is a crafting site of the best kind! I am crafting obsessed, so read on if you want. I am so excited to begin a new year with a blog of my very own. So welcome me into your gaping mouth Blogger - I am ready to be swallowed whole.